Cabbages and Condoms & Sukhumvit

When the guard pointed me towards the exit I had to take, I was put on a course towards Chidlom and Sukhumvit. I decided to make my way towards Cabbages and Condoms to fulfill my craving for miang kham, a snack that I haven't found in the US. When I lived in Bangkok, an itinerant hawker used to come by and sell us DIY packets of the stuff. I loved this snack. My staff used to assemble the bite sized snack for me and then giggle as I ate it because they put extra chilies in it... as if I didn't suspect. I would put on a grave face while they guffawed at me trying not to give them the satisfaction of reacting to the extra chilies. As this was primarily street food sold by mobile hawkers, I did not know where to get it other than at Cabbages and Condoms, which had miang kham as an appetizer. Cabbages and Condoms was about a mile away from where I was. Walking through Chidlom and Sukhumvit, I reveled in the street scene and the smells. While not always pleasant, they brought me back to my time in Bangkok.

At Cabbages and Condoms, I ordered a miang kham and a small pad thai. Indulge me a quick rant. In the US, people seem to think that pad thai is the definitive Thai dish, and they order it all the time. Apart from one restaurant in Wheaton, Maryland, all the pad thai I have eaten in the US is really bad. Pad thai is actually street food in Thailand; few restaurants, other than tourist oriented ones, would even dare to have it on their menu because it will draw comparisons with street vendors who have perfected their art by cooking nothing but pad thai for decades. I missed decent pad thai, so I decided to order one at Cabbages and Condoms because, well, I was in Thailand... I mean how bad can it be? Well, it turned out to be a soggy mess. I couldn't finish it. The miang kham was great though. In hindsight, I should have avoided this restaurant and simply eaten something from a street stall.

Coincidentally, the canape for my dinner on board my flight to Sydney later that evening was miang kham. So, my craving was satisfied. Twice over.

Cabbages and Condoms was established by a man who advocates for STD prevention and family planning by encouraging condom use In Thailand. After eating, I checked out the condom art before heading to Makkasan station and then back to the airport where I took a much needed shower at the lounge before boarding my flight to Sydney.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cabbages-co…

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